Thursday, February 24, 2011

God is part of culture, has made Himself known in culture, and is working through culture. He sets the example in that He enters a foreign place to bring a foreign message and aims to communicate it in forms that make sense; not only linguistically, but in understanding, meaning, and form. When considering effective work in foreign cultures, translation of meaning is more critical than linguistic translation. When meaning is conveyed, grasped, and understood, we are able to operate most effectively among the host culture. The dynamic equivalent (meaning for meaning) illustrates the most effective form of communication in all sectors of life; personal and mass. When the gospel is effectively communicated, missionaries are able to communicate Christ through culture without asking them to compromise their culture. For effective ministry to remain and sustain, culture will be the vehicle by which the gospel is sustained and transmitted.

1.M’s should not determine the dynamic equivalent. This should be determined in meaning and conveyed in meaning by those within the culture.

2.Expressions of faith must remain very Christian and yet very true to the culture. If the gospel is seen as something from another culture it will be not received unless it has a direct benefit to the host culture.

3.When sharing the gospel, the M must be attentive to preach Christ and not Christian culture.

4.Recognition of diversity in culture can be a unifying bond in the faith. M’s need to celebrate differences when appropriate.

5.The dynamic equivalent of faith must be the central expression of faith locally within targeted culture. M’s must work with the culture to discover what it will be.

Monday, January 24, 2011

So I'm in the middle of finishing my masters; over the next few months, some excerpts will be from some of my working thesis...enjoy!

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Often times, culture and ethnicity are commonly mistaken for being the same thing. However,culture does not equal ethnicity. Culture crosses all lines of race, class, socio economics, and even ethnicities.

Because all aspects of life evidence culture, one’s culture is a learned process of incorporative behaviors, languages, responses, and beliefs (enculturation).

Learned culture will begin to lead to the most effective forms of communicating, thus creating clearer opportunities for the gospel to be shared. However significant enculturation may be, it’s critical to maintain that biblical culture will always supplant any and all cultural ethics. Often times, this will lead to problems, especially when biblical culture is in direct opposition to the culture being engaged by the missionary/church planter.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

if you've ever done a cannon ball into a pool, you know how fun it can be, especially when the splash is great and you get folks wet...on purpose.

however, sometimes, i've splashed more people than i had originally planned. why? because when i jump in, i close my eyes and then come what may. that's good if i'm aiming to be reckless. that's not so good if i'm trying to calculate my move.

so i said something the other day that i regretted when it came out and i still regret it to this moment.

it was one of those comments that had a much larger affect than i expected it to have. rest assure that it wasn't a curse word or a poor joke. no, it was a comment that was pretty egotistical. i know, can you believe it? me? nah...

anyhow, my language made a pretty big splash, for the worst. especially to the folks that were around me whom heard me say the comment.

i know in time the splash dries off, but it takes time. same thing with the comment. but it takes different amounts of time for language to dry off of different people

all of that could have been avoided, had i controlled my tongue - James, authentic faith. DOH!

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Psalm 1:6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

This scripture makes most decisions pretty simple. Will it lead me towards His righteousness or towards wickedness?

Why is it then that at times we seem to prefer steps towards wickedness knowing that it openly displeases the Lord and it's end will always lead to our ruin? This is an incredible promise with great benefits that are based on our choice. Will we obey or not?

May we be drawn to paths that honor Him...He's will watch over us and our lives when we do so.